Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

That night, in the residential building of the Shanghai Automobile Factory, Bai Jianbo's family finished dinner and sat on the sofa in the living room with their son and daughter, eating fruit and watching the Shanghai news on the color TV.

Just then, the news on TV was broadcasting footage of today's Xiaochi Auto test vehicle fleet passing through the urban area of ​​Shanghai. The voice-over kept reading the news narration, praising the Xiaochi Auto vehicles that had come to Shanghai in an extremely flowery manner.

Bai Jianbo sat quietly watching TV, teacup in hand. His son, Bai Yongqiang, stared wide-eyed at the three stylish cars on the news, exclaiming, "Dad, those cars are so beautiful and impressive!"

"Look at this car! Wow! Dad, this is much more impressive and better looking than the 760 your factory produces," Bai Yongqiang said, unaware that his father Bai Jianbo's face had darkened. "Dad, I told you, your 760 should have been changed a long time ago. Compared to these three cars, the 760 is just junk."

On television, bicycles formed a long line, and a crowd surrounded three luxury cars. Close-ups of a young man in bell-bottoms touching a horse's head emblem, and Huang Bensheng's confident smile at the camera, were all shown to the people of Shanghai watching the news.

"According to Huang Bensheng, the team leader, this road test will take place across the country to comprehensively examine the vehicle's performance, marking a significant step forward for my country's automotive industry..."

"If I could drive this car, my life would be worthwhile..."

Before Bai Jianbo could finish speaking, someone slapped him hard on the head from behind. Song's mother, whose hands were still wet, said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? In front of your father, you're disparaging the cars produced by his factory like this. You still plan to drive this car? Can you even afford it?"

"Mom, I didn't say anything. The car they made is indeed more impressive than the 760s in Dad's factory," Bai Yongqiang said, sticking out his neck.

"You dare say that? You can say these things at home, but if you dare say them outside, don't expect your mother to give you a single penny of pocket money!"

"Forget it, don't blame the child," Bai Jianbo put down his teacup, sighed, and said to his son, "It's a fact that we're not as skilled as others. Even if you shut them up, they'll still have their complaints."

Seeing her husband say this, Song's mother wiped the water off her hands with her apron, nudged her son, and sat down next to Bai Jianbo. "Old Bai, is the technology at this factory in Tuocheng really that good? Should I talk to my dad about it...?"

"No need, it's no use saying anything," Bai Jianbo stopped his wife Song Yu from saying anything more. Besides, his father-in-law was about to retire, and the Xiaochi Motors matter was on the Ministry of Industry's radar. If anyone wanted to take a liking to Xiaochi, they would first have to get past Huang Bin.

Furthermore, Huang Bin had revealed to the three car manufacturers more than once that the Snapdragon was a key project approved by the old man to be launched in Tuocheng, and that it was an important part of the reform and opening up. Who would dare to have any ulterior motives!

His father-in-law had been working to get him a position as the first secretary of the factory at Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation for almost six years, but Bai Jianbo had yet to achieve anything. When Xiaochi appeared, Bai Jianbo initially had some ulterior motives, but Huang Bin later chatted with him over tea in the office about Xiaochi.

Don't reach out, or no one can protect you!

This was the only warning Huang Bin, as the head of the Ministry of Industry, gave to Bai Jianbo. Afterwards, he visited his father-in-law's house and talked about the Xiaochi incident, wanting to ask his father-in-law, "How come this foreign company has such a powerful background?"

His father-in-law smiled mysteriously and said only three sentences: "Don't ask, don't investigate, don't inquire!"

Bai Jianbo was shocked. Even his father-in-law, a former vice-minister, had said this. Moreover, this was a private conversation between the father-in-law and son-in-law, and the father-in-law was unwilling to reveal any useful information. It seemed that this matter involved some confidentiality clause.

Since then, Bai Jianbo has become much more polite to Chen Dong on the phone, and he has become increasingly emboldened when it comes to the design of Xiaochi cars. If you have interests involved with those above, then you are "one of us".

Can copying your own people's work be called plagiarism?

No!

"Dad, has the convoy left Shanghai yet? Can you use your connections to let me borrow a car?" Bai Yongqiang thought about how impressive it would be to drive those three cars that made the news in front of his classmates or friends.

"You want to eat shit?!"

Bai Jianbo glared at his good-for-nothing son. "It's a wholly foreign-owned factory, and these vehicles are all undergoing road testing. You want to drive them? Your dad wants to drive them back to the factory for surveying!"

Song Yu frowned and asked, "Old Bai, since when were foreign investors allowed to own car factories? Why isn't Old Huang doing anything about it? I need to call my dad and ask!"

"No, don't worry about this. Old Huang has already told me the reason. Don't call your dad," Bai Jianbo said, pressing down on his wife Song Yu's hand as she reached for the phone.

"The better Xiaochi Motors develops, the better it will be for the factory. The factory now has parts cooperation with Xiaochi. I'm also planning to see if I can use my connections in the ministry to get Xiaochi to license their 1.6L inline four-cylinder engine to us."

Song Yu was puzzled. Hearing her husband say this, she quickly asked, "What about your cooperation with Volkswagen? Are you not going to discuss it anymore?"

"Talk! Why not talk? We can manage both. Besides, cooperating with Volkswagen doesn't prevent the factory from cooperating with Snapdragon. We can operate as two separate departments," Bai Jianbo said with a smile. "The Shanghai license plate 760 is definitely going to be phased out; it's an irreversible situation. I plan to revive the 'Phoenix' name. As long as we can cooperate with Snapdragon, subsequent models will be named 'Phoenix,' symbolizing Shanghai Automotive's phoenix rebirth!"

"Phoenix Motors? If you put it that way, Lao Bai, it's quite meaningful. Is Xiaochi willing to cooperate with the factory?" Song Yu asked. If Xiaochi produces the BMW series, then it wouldn't be a bad idea for Shanghai Automotive to produce the Phoenix series.

"It's mainly a matter of money. Chen Zaidong doesn't object to licensing the technology patents; he even agreed to help us produce and debug suitable engines based on our car model designs," Bai Jianbo said with a wry smile. "The key is on our side—the factory doesn't have the money!"

"Hasn't your factory been doing quite well these past few years? Our company asked your factory for cars, and Qiu Mingjiang was so stingy that he only gave us two. You don't have to worry about selling the cars, so how come you're short of money?"

Song Yu's question was rather tactless. Indeed, she was the deputy director of publicity at the Shanghai State-owned No. 1 Sugar Factory, and she rarely concerned herself with the factory's affairs, making her a "freelance" employee.

"Deferred payment!"

"Do you think that just because the cars are selling well, our factory can recoup all the money we made from the government? The factory has been able to survive this long without the continuous financial support from the Ministry of Industry; we wouldn't even be able to pay our workers' wages!"